When people call Clean & Sober Recovery Services to inquire about our residential treatment program, they often ask two questions. First of all, is Clean & Sober Recovery Services a hospital? No, we’re more like a home setting where people can safely learn how to navigate life without alcohol or drugs as their “steering wheel.”

Callers also ask if Clean & Sober Recovery Services is a lock-down facility, and the answer is No. Our residents are all adults, and we don’t have a 10-foot fence to keep them here. Our staff does keep a pulse on the attitudes and behaviors that signal someone might be restless. When residents seem vulnerable, we work proactively with them to tackle whatever issue is prompting them to look for the exit. Sometimes, it’s family issues. Sometimes it’s job concerns. But it’s ALWAYS in their best interests to complete their treatment. More often than not, those conversations with our staff help residents through the rough spots, and they decide to stay.

What kind of personal growth takes place at the Clean & Sober Recovery Services treatment center? Immersed in the 40 hours of treatment that we offer each week is a strong focus on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Quite simply, CBT helps people identify and re-frame harmful thought patterns. In essence, our counselors help clients acquire new skills to respond to life’s ups and downs. Those new ways of thinking help clients manage their depression, their anger, their impulsivity or their self-doubts. With time and practice, they learn to view the world through a more measured and thoughtful lens.

If you wonder how we got into the substance use disorder pickle, take a look at some of the data, below:

Less than 15 percent of medical schools have any courses on substance use disorder.

Data shows that more than 10 million full-time workers have a substance use disorder.

Substance misuse costs the country $442 billion annually in lost productivity and other costs.

About one in 10 people with a substance use disorder is treated; of those who do get help, just a third receive treatment that meets minimal standards of care, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Affordable Care Act now mandate that substance-use treatment be covered by insurers at levels comparable to coverage for other illnesses. Yet commercial insurers paid for only about 27 percent of all addiction treatment in 2016.

This is a guest post from Ricki Townsend, board-registered interventionist and family counselor

Relapse is not inevitable, but it may well be a part of an individual’s recovery process. And the fear of relapse is especially excruciating to parents who have “launched” their children and then find themselves back in the trenches of problem-solving and cleaning up the messes of an addicted or alcoholic young adult who is acting like an irresponsible child all over again.

So, what can a parent do to avoid falling into the trap of worry, enabling and co-dependency, which they thought they left behind when their child (of any age) found recovery? Well, the bad news is that worry, enabling and co-dependency don’t go away with the snap of a finger when a child (or spouse, for that matter) enters treatment. These behaviors are ingrained in parents, who have often spent years trying to get their kids to stop using drugs or alcohol.